Soundproof ear appliance



y 1949- D. B. DRlSKlLL SOUND PROOF EAR APPLIANCE Filed Nov. 13, 1946 IN VEN TOR. DALLAS B. DR/SK ILL A T TORNEY out sound waves Patented July 19, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,476,589 SOUNDPROOF EAR APPLIANCE Dallas B. Driskill, Van Nuys, Calif.

Application November 13,

7 Claims. (Cl. 128-152) 1 My invention relates to sound proof ear appliances, and its objects are more effectively to shut out from impact upon the tympanum or human ear drum, as occasion may require, sound vibrations or waves coming from any source whatever; to permit authors, inventors, artists, scientists, professional or business men, and others, to concentrate anddevote their entire attention to the work at hand undiverted or undisturbed by outside sounds; to better alleviate and prevent the nerve tension and wear upon the human system by' disturbing noises or sounds arising in manufacturing. occupations, on railroads, in street cries and traffic, in offices, and by other auricular disturbances wherever encountered; to furnish a more effective means of bringing about refreshing sleep undisturbed by outside or awakening sounds and to contribute to the prevention of insomnia; to continue to equalize the pressure upon the ear drum between the inner and outer ear cavities while more effectively preventing the effects of injurious concussions upon, or the possible fracture of, said ear drum transmitted through sound waves or detonations occasioning violent changes in the atmospherefto provide an ear protecting device employing a vacuum shield, which device is adjustable completely to cover the ear auricle and external auditory canal and which may. readily be hermetically affixed thereover to the adjacent surface of the cran'um and easily removed therefrom; to render the parts of said appliance readily accessible for inspection, adjustment, replacement or repair, and generally to provide an ear protecting device which is simple and economical of construction, efficient in action, and of prolonged life and durability. These and other objects will appear fromthe drawingand as hereinafter described and ,set forth. a

While I am aware that there are many forms of ear protecting devices in the prior art the purpose of which is to deaden or dampen noises which are disturbing to human beings or which are likely to injure human ear drums or to tend to produce deafness, I believe myself to be the first inventor in the art to devise an ear protector employing a vacuum as a shield to shut from-impacting the human ear drum, and to utilize the well known scientific factthat'the longitudinal waves propagating sound require for their transmission a physical medium in the state of asolid, liquid or gas, and cannot pass through a vacuum.

"Attention is hereby directed panying drawing,

to the accom- 1946, SeriaLNo. 709,605

my invention, in which similar numerals of designation refer to similar parts throughout the several views, and in which- Figure 1 is a front view of a human head showing the application of a pair of my improved ear protectors to the ears thereof, and the means employed by me for creating the required vacuum in each of said protectors through suction,

' brought about by the wearer thereof;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the head and one of the appliances shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view of the interior shown in ,Fig. 1, looking at the same in tion of the arrows 3-3, and

Fig. 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 2,1ooking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawing, I have there shown of the appliance the direcmy invention incorporated in a pair of doubleillustrating-a perferred form of against any comm walled devices, each of which includes a shallow cup 5, inserted within and attached to a larger shallow dished cover plate 6; the flaring walls of both cup and plate having left between them the annular chamber 1. As shown, the cup 5 is formed to surround and to enclose the auricle 8 and the entrance of the external auditory canal 9 of the human ear III; the circumferential rim I l of said cup having aflixed thereto the continuous yielding rubber strip or buffer l2,'contoured to embrace and to nest the said auricle 8, and to bring about accurate and close engagement of said strip with the adjacent surface of the eranium l3 so as hermetically to seal the said cup, and prevent ingress or egress of air in or from said auditory canal. Also as shown, the cover plate 6 is made somewhat larger than the cup 5 in order that ample space may be provided between the walls thereof to allow for the formation of the annular chamber 1, and the wall of said plate is contoured closely to follow the form of the wall of said cup. interposed between and cemented to the adjacent flat bottoms l4 and I5 of said cup and plate, respectively, is the sheet l6, preferably of rubber-like material; which sheet serves permanently to secure said cup and plate together, while at the same time permitting re- .silient movement without impairing the connection thereof. To the circumferential rim ll of said plate 6 is affixed the yielding rubber roll or buffer i8, shaped to make accurate and close engagement with the adjacent surface of the eranium l3 outside of the rubber bufling strip l2, and serving to hermetically seal the chamber 1 against the-ingress or egress of air therefrom, and cation whatever with the removably attached the sucked by the hollow of the cup I when encasinz the auricle I as within the chamber aforesai In order to exhaust the air I, when one of my double-walled devices is appliedto the car as illustrated in the drawing, I supply the dished cover plate I with the conventional valve is passing theretlgough, to which is tube the mouth serves when the "air to a which inserted within wearer to draw outfrom auricular disturbances. ,8 vacuum may be made partial or complete as desired by the wearer, to relieve the disturbance, depending upon the amount of suction applied, and after as aforesaid, each of my h securely clamped suction can be created in the hollow of said cup and the equalized drum will continue undisturbed.

My invention may be embodied inother specific therein.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A sound proof ear appliance, comprising aclosure for the auricle and external auditory canal of the human ear, and a valve opening outwardly from said closure and adapted to connect with the free end of vacuum means for exhausting air from said applied to the human cranium hermetically sealed from said a vacuum therein.

6. A'sound proof ear appliance as claim 5, including means for securing together the bottoms of the cup and plate so as to permit the DALLAS B. pmsxmz.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED s'ra'ras remu'rs Number me Date Strouse Jan. 22, 1935 'FoRmqN' mamas-'1; j

Country 1 3- -Date set forth in 

